Precision road grader with tiltable frame



A ril 1-, 1969 N. s. IVERSON PRECISION ROAD GRADER WITH TILTABLE FRAMEFiled July 25. 1966 Sheet I I NVENTOR. as. S. Ivensozv BY AT TORNEYApril 1, 1969 N. s. IVERSON PRECISION ROAD GRADER WITH TILTABLE FRAMEFiled July 25, 1966 z of 4 She'et Q mm Qm Nw INVENTOR. NOEL S. I VERSONATTORNEYS A ril 1, .1969 N. s. IVERSON PRECISION'ROAD GRADER WITHTILTABLE FRAME M 4 Ms M NH do 3 W 1; m s a L Q% vm E w mN w w y M m m ATTORNEYS Apnl 1, 1969 N. s. IVERSON rnncrsxou ROAD GRADER wma TILTABLEFRAME Filed July 25, 1966 Sheet 4 I NVENTOR.

NOEL S. I vsnsolv AT TORNEYS United States Patent 3,435,546 PRECISIONROAD GRADER WITH TILTABLE FRAME Noel S. Iverson, New Ulm, Minn.,assignor to New Ulm Manufacturing Company, New Ulm, Minn., a corporationof Minnesota Filed July 25, 1966, Scr. No. 567,524 Int. Cl. E021? 3/ 76;A01b 63/104, 65/00 US. Cl. 37-408 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Arigid frame having mold boards fixed thereto, ground engaging wheels atits front and rear ends, and wheel mounting means, pivotally secured tothe front and rear ends of the frame and operable to raise and lower theframe relative to the wheels and pivotally tilt the frame relative tothe wheels on an axis extending longitudinally of the frame.

Briefly stated this invention involves an elongated and extremely rigidgenerally rectangular frame having pairs of supporting wheels at itsopposite ends, the frame being supported for generally verticalmovements relative to the wheels and for tilting movements relative tothe wheels on a generally horizontal axis extending generallylongitudinally of the frame. A plurality of mold boards are fixed to theframe for common vertical and tilting movements therewith. A verticallydisposed longitudinally extending plate-like gate is mounted to one sideof the frame forwardly of the rearmost mold board for movements towardand away from engagement with said rearmost mold board. The frame isfabricated from rigid steel plates welded together to provide top andbottom walls and spaced side walls, the top walls forming parts of adeck upon which an operator may move about. This invention furtherincludes means mounting the pair of Wheels at one end of the frame formovements toward and away from each other transversely of the frame, andmeans for imparting transverse movements to the wheels of said pair,whereby to vary the tread width as said one end of the frame. The moldboards each comprise a plurality of mold board sections, some of whichunderlie the frame, others being removably secured to the frame inend-to-end relation to the underlying sections.

Machines, such as land levelers and road graders heretofore produced,have relied upon their own weight to maintain the ground working elementthereof at a predetermined level whereby to cut down high spots and fillin low areas in the ground, such as a roadway, traversed thereby. Withmachines of relatively light weight, rigidity of support of the groundworking blades or elements is lost to a great extent, resulting inuneven operation and necessitating repeated smoothing operations on theroadway. Other equipment, having sufiicient weight and rigidity toenable the grading operation to be completed with a single passage overthe roadway, is usually so heavy and cumbersome as to be diificult totransport from one region to another.

One of the objects of this invention is the provision of a road graderhaving means whereby the weight thereof may be quickly and easilyincreased to provide extreme stability in operation, and as easilyreduced for ease in transport.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a road grader inwhich the effective width may be increased for road grading purposes anddecreased to a minimum for safe highway transport.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a road graderhaving means for controlling discharge of lCC road material from themold boards, whereby to facilitate leveling of high and lower areas in aroad bed.

Still, another object of this invention is the provision of a roadgrader which will control the grade and slope of a road with a highdegree of accuracy.

The above, and still further highly important objects and advantages ofthis invention will become apparent from the following detailedspecification, appended claims and attached drawings.

Referring to the drawings, in which like reference characters indicatelike parts throughout the several views:

FIG. 1 is a view in top plan of a road grader produced in accordancewith this invention, some parts being broken away;

FIG. 2 is a view in side elevation, some parts being broken away andsome parts being shown in section;

FIG. 3 is a view in rear elevation;

FIG. 4 is a view in bottom plan, some parts being broken away and someparts being shown in section;

FIG. 5 is a view in front elevation, some parts being broken away;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged transverse section taken substantially on the line66 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary detail in section, taken substantiallyon the line 77 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary view in bottom plan, as seen from theline 88 of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken substantially on theline 9-9 of FIG. 2.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated, an elongated generallyrectangular rigid frame is indicated in its entirety by the referencenumeral 1. The frame 1 is preferably made from heavy sheets or plates ofmetal, such as steel, welded together to provide top walls 2, 3, 4 and5, side walls 6, 7, 8 and 9, front end walls 10 and rear end walls 11,and bottom walls 12, 13, 14 and 15. The top and bottom walls 4 and 14are connected by front and rear wall portions 1 6 and 17 that are weldedat their opposite ends to the adjacent side walls 8 and 9, and the topand bottom walls 5 and 15 are likewise connected by front and rear wallportions 18 and 19 that are likewise welded at their opposite ends tothe adjacent side walls 8 and 9. A pair of transverse partitions 20 and21 are welded within the spaces defined by the walls 6, 8, 10 and 11 andWalls 7, 9, 10 and 11 respectively, the various walls and partitionscooperating to define liquid tight ballast chambers 22, 23, 24, 25, 26and 27, see particularly FIG. 4. Each of the ballast chambers 2227 isindependent of the others thereof, and is provided with an individualliquid inlet opening 28, see FIG. 1. Similarly, each ballast chamber22-27 is provided in its bottom wall with an individual drain opening29, the openings 28 and 29 being normally closed by convention means,such as removable pipe plugs or the like, not shown.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 4, it will be seen that the front and rearwall portions 16 and 19 respectively are longitudinally inwardly spacedfrom their adjacent end walls 10 and 11, and that the wall portions 17and 18 are disposed in longitudinally spaced relationship. Intermediatethe walls 17 and 18, a plurality of cross bars 30 extend between theside walls 8 and 9, and support a deck portion or grill 31 substantiallyat the common level of the top walls 25, the top walls and grill 31providing a deck for the operator. The deck further supports variousequipment, such as an operators seat 32, a control console 33, an engine34, a pump 35 coupled to the engine 34, a fluid reservoir 36, a tool box37 and coils of wire or the like 38. A deck portion 39 extendsrearwardly of the frame 1 and terminates in steps by means of which theoperator gains access to the top of the frame 1. A handrail 41,encompassing the work area above the frame 1, is supported in upwardlyspaced relation thereto by spaced legs or the like 42.

The frame 1 is supported above the ground for generally verticalmovements and for tilting movements on a generally horizontal axisextending longitudinally of the frame 1 by front and rear pairs ofpneumatic tire equipped wheels 43 and 44 respectively. The front wheels43 are journalled on opposite ends of a transverse axle 45 that isrigidly connected to an elongated draft member 46 fragmentarily shown,but of conventional structure adapted to be connected to a prime mover,such as a tractor or truck, not shown. A bellcrank 47 is journalled atits intermediate portion on a generally horizontally disposed transverseshaft 48 that is bolted or otherwise rigidly secured at its oppositeends to mounting pads 49 welded or otherwise rigidly secured to thefront end portions of the side Walls 8 and 9, see FIGS. 1, 4 and 5. Thebellcrank 47 comprises a lever arm 50 that extends generally forwardlyfrom the shaft 48 and is secured at its outer end to a conventionalfifth wheel 51 that is pivotally mounted to the draft bar or tongue 46,as indicated at 52, on a generally horizontal axis extendinglongitudinally of the frame 1. The bellcrank 47 further includesgenerally upwardly extending lever arms 53 that are pivotally connectedat their outer ends to a pair of plunger rods 54 that are axiallymovable in cooperating fluid pressure cylinders 55 which in turn arepivotally connected to mounting brackets 56 extending upwardly from thetop wall 4 of the frame 1. The cylinders 55 may be assumed to beoperatively connected in hydraulic circuitry including the pump 35 andcontrol valves, not shown, but mounted in the operating console 33, thecylinders 55 being operative to pivotally move the bell crack 47 aboutthe axis of the shaft 48 to raise and lower the front end of the frame 1relative to the adjacent wheels 43.

A second bellcrank 57 has its intermediate portion journalled on agenerally horizontally disposed transverse shaft 58 which, like theshaft 48 has its opposite ends rigidly secured to a pair of mountingpads 59 that are welded or otherwise rigidly secured to the framesidewalls 8 and 9 adjacent the rear end walls 11. A generallyhorizontally disposed arm portion 60 of the bell crank 57 extendsrearwardly from the shaft 58 and terminates at its rear end portion in ashaft 61 on which is journalled a bearing 62 rigidly secured to thelongitudinally central portion of the transverse axle housing 63. A pairof axially aligned wheel axles 64 are axially slidably mounted in theaxle housing 63, each of the axles 64 journalling a different one of therear wheels 44. It will be noted that the axis of the bell crank shaft61 is generally horizontally disposed and extends generallylongitudinally of the frame 1, like the axis of the pivotal connection52..

The bell crank 57 further includes a depending bifurcated lever armportion 57a, to the lower end portion of which is pivotally connectedone end of a tie rod or bar 57b, the tie rod 57b extending forwardly andupwardly between the frame walls 17 and 18 and through an opening 570 inthe grill 31, the front end of the tie rod 57b being connected to aturnbuckle 57d which in turn is operatively coupled to the upper ends ofthe lever arms 53. The arrangement is such that, when the bell crank 47is operated by the fluid pressure cylinders 55 in a direction to raisethe front end portion of the frame 1, the tie rod 57b will move the bellcrank 57 in a direction to raise the rear end portion of the frame 1 alike amount. Adjustment of the turnbuckle 57d will impart raising orlowering movements of the rear end portion of the frame 1 relative tothe front end thereof, as desired.

Means for tilting the frame 1 with respect to the wheels 43 and 44 aboutthe substantially aligned axes of the pivot connection 52 and shaft 61comprises a fluid pressure cylinder 65 pivotally connected at one end toa pair of brackets 66 welded to the axle housing 63, and a cooperatingplunger rod 67 axially slidably mounted in the cylinder 65 and pivotallyconnected to an arm 68 projecting laterally outwardly from the bellcrank 57, see particularly FIG. 6. The cylinder 65 is operativelyconnected to the pump 35 by conventional conduit means, not shown, andcontrolled by valve means, not shown, but which may be assumed to bedisposed in the control console 33.

The axially slidable mounting of the axles 64 in the axle housing 63permits the rear wheels to be moved axially toward and away from eachother to provide a relatively narrow base of support for the frame 1 andparts carried thereby, for highway travel, or to provide a relativelywide base of support for the frame 1 and parts carried thereby duringthe grading operation. For the purpose of imparting such movements tothe rear wheels 44, I provide a pair of fluid pressure cylinders 69disposed in parallel relationship to the common axis of the axles 64 andconnected at their inner ends to the axle housing as indicated at 70,see particularly FIG. 8. The cylinders 69 are provided with cooperatingaxially outwardly extending piston-equipped plunger rods 71 that areeach attached at their outer ends to a different one of the axles 64, bymeans of brackets or the like 72, see FIGS. 3, 6 and 8. The cylinders 69are connected for common operation by conduits 73 and 74 which may beassumed to be operatively connected to the pump 35 and control means inthe console 33. Means for releasably locking the axles 64 in differentpositions of axial movement thereof, comprises a pair of tubular members75 Welded or otherwise secured to the axle housing 63 in parallelrelationship to the axles 64, and anchoring rods or bars 76 slidablymounted in the tubular member 75 and having outer ends rigidly securedto respective ones of the axles 64 by anchoring lugs 77, seeparticularly FIG. 7. Each of the tubular members 75 is provided with aplurality of axially spaced transverse openings 78 that are alignablewith a transverse opening 79 in the respective one of the anchoring rods'76. Anchoring pins, not shown, extend through aligned pairs of openings78 and 79 to rigidly hold the axles 64 against axial movement in theaxle housing 63.

A plurality of cooperating mold boards are anchored to and depend fromthe frame 1, comprising front, intermediate and rear mold boards 80, 81and 82 respectively. Each of the mold boards are disposed at obliqueangles to the longitudinal dimension of the machine and to the adjacentmold board, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4. The intermediate mold board 81,comprises a pair of mold board sections 83 and 84, the former of whichis bolted or otherwise rigidly secured to a pair of brackets 85 that arewelded to the underside of the frame 1, the mold board section 84 beingdisposed in end-to-end relationship with the section 83, and bolted orotherwise releasably secured to a bracket 86 welded to the bottom wall13 and sidewall 7 of the frame 1. As shown, the intermediate mold boardsection 84 extends laterally outwardly beyond the plane of the sidewall7 and is secured adjacent its outer end to a brace bar 87 that isremovably secured to a mounting bracket 88 welded to the bottom wall 13,see FIGS. 2 and 4. The rear mold board 82 comprises a plurality of moldboard sections 89, 90 and 91, disposed in end-to-end relationship, thesection 89 being disposed in rearwardly spaced relation to the moldboard section 83 and rigidly anchored to a pair of mounting brackets 92that are welded to the bottom walls 12 and 13 of the frame 1. The moldboard section 90 is bolted or otherwise releasably secured to a bracket93 welded to the adjacent sidewall 6 and bottom wall 12 of the frame 1and braced adjacent its outer end by a brace arm or bar 94 that isremovably secured to a mounting bracket 95 welded to the bottom wall 12,see FIG. 4. The mold board section 91 is bolted or otherwise releasablysecured to a bracket 96 similar to the bracket 93 but welded to thebottom wall 13 and side wall 7 of the frame 1 adjacent the rear endthereof. The front mold board 80 is disposed substantially evenly withthe mold board section 84, but at the opposite side of the frame 1thereof, and has its inner end portion bolted or otherwise releasablysecured to a pair of mounting brackets 97 and 98 welded to the bottomwall 12 of the frame 1. The mold board 80 projects generally laterallyoutwardly from the adjacent side wall 6 of the frame 1 and is braced atits outer end portion by a rigid tie bar 99 having its oppositeendportions secured to the outer end portions of the mold board 80 andmold board section 90.

The mold boards 80 and 81 are provided along their lower edges withtoothed digging blades 100, the several mold board sections 89, 90 and91 being provided along their lower edges with smooth edged scrapingblades 101. During forward progress of the machine over a road to begraded, the teeth 100 dig into and break up the surface of the road, themold boards 80 and 81 guiding the broken up surface particles generallylaterally of the machine. and toward the mold board section 90 of themold board 82, the mold board 82 distributing the material uniformlyover the width of the area covered by the mold board 82 during itsmovement over the roadway. By proper manipulation of the controls withinthe console 33 to raise or lower the frame 1 and parts carried thereby,relative to the wheels 43 and 44, the depth of cut made by the blades inthe road bed can be controlled with a high degree of accuracy. Further,by adjustment of the turnbuckle 57d, the elevation of the rear moldboard 82 relative to the mold boards 80 and 81, may be accuratelycontrolled, this being done by raising or lowering the rear end of theframe 1 relative to the rear wheels 44.

When it is desired to move material from a high spot or area in the roadand transport the same for deposit in a hollow or lower area, I providemeans, now to be described, for confining material forwardly of the rearmold board 82 and against movement of the same toward the outer end ofthe rear mold board section 91. A vertically disposed support frame 102comprises an elongated platelike member 102 extending longitudinally ofthe frame 1 adjacent the side wall 7 thereof, a plurality of verticallyextending stiffening ribs 104 welded to the platelike member 103 and apair of vertically spaced parallel guide rails 105 welded to the ribs104 and platelike member 103, and extending longitudinallly of theframe 1. The platelike member 103 and ribs 104 are welded to the bottomwall 13, and are braced by a pair of angularly disposed struts 106, seeparticularly FIGS. 4 and 9. A vertically disposed platelike gate 107extends longtiudinally of the frame 1 adjacent the support frame 102,and is provided with bearing members 108 and 109 that engage the guiderails 105 for movements with the gate 107 longitudinally of the frame 1and toward and away from engagement of the rear end 110 of the gate 107with the rear mold board section 91. Means for imparting movements tothe gate 107 longitudinally of the frame 1 comprises a fluid pressurecylinder 111 rigidly secured to the platelike member 103 by means of abracket 112, and a cooperating piston equipped plunger rod 113 axiallymovable in the cylinder 111 and having an outer end secured to a lug orbracket 114 welded to the gate 107. The cylinder 111 may be assumed tobe connected in a fluid circuit by suitable conduit means, not shown,but including the pump 35, reservoir 36, and control means, not shown,but contained within the control console 33. By controlling the openingbetween the rear end 110 of the gate 107 and the rear mold board 82, thespread of gravel or road material over the surface traversed by themachine can be accurately controlled without the necessity for changingthe angular relationship of the rear mold board 82 relative to thedirection of travel of the machine. If desired, the grader of thisinvention may be automatically controlled by suitable control mechanism,including a sensing element 115 that is mounted, by means of a verticaladjustment mechanism 116 carried by a transverse boom 117 having itsinner end mounted in a transverse socket 118, the boom 117 being furthersupported by angularly disposed arms or tie rods 119 that are releasablysecured at their inward ends to mounting ears or the like 120 on theframe 1. With reference to FIGS. 1 and 4, it will be seen that anothersocket 118 and a second pair of ears 120 are disposed at the oppositeside of the frame 1, so that the boom 117 and parts carried thereby maybe selectively mounted at either side of the frame 1. The sensingelement 115 is adapted to engage a length of taut wire or cable 121stretched along the roadway at a predetermined height, it being assumedthat the sensing element 115 controls operation of the cylinders 55 formaintaining a given elevation of the several mold boards. The specificmechanism for automatically controlling the height or elevation of themold boards, as well as that for controlling the operation of thetilting cylinder 65 do not in and of themselves comprise the instantinvention, hence, for the sake of brevity, more detailed showing anddescription thereof is omitted.

By filling the various ballast chambers 2227 with liquid, such as water,suflicient weight is imparted to the machine to enable the same toquickly and etficiently provide a smooth and even surface to a road madefrom extremely heavy material and in a highly deteriorated condition,requiring a cut of maximum depth. In practice, I have been able tocontrol the accuracy of grade within plus or minus one-eighth inch andan accuracy of slope control within plus or minus one-eighth of onepercent. The ballast chambers are of such size that filling of the samewith Water increases the weight of the machine by 30,000 pounds, whichmakes the machine highly stable during the road grading operation. Whenthe road is completely graded, and it is desired to move the machine toa distant point for further operation, draining of the ballast tanks isa simple operation, whereby to effectively lighten the machine for roadtransport. By removing the boom 117 and parts carried thereby, as wellas the mold board and mold board sections and 101, and operating thecylinders 69 to move the rear wheels 44 to their laterally inwardlyretracted positions, the machine becomes sufliciently narrow to be towedor otherwise moved along the highway with relative safety. When arrivingat a destination for further grading operation, it is a simple matter torefill the ballast chambers with water and remount the mold boardsections and control means, if required.

While I have showed and described a commercial embodiment of myprecision grading machine, it will be understood that the same iscapable of modification without departure from the spirit and scope ofthe invention, as defined in the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A precision road grader comprising:

(a) an elongated, generally rectangular rigid frame,

(b) front and rear pairs of ground-engaging wheels at the front and rearends respectively of said frame,

(c) front and rear wheel mounting means pivotally mounted on the frontand rear ends respectively of said frame on generally horizontal axestransversely of the frame mounting said pairs of wheels for generallyvertical movements of said frame relative to said pair of wheels and fortilting movements of said frame relative to said pairs of wheels on acommon generally horizontal axis extending longitudinally of said frame,

(d) a plurality of ground-engaging mold boards underlying said frame,

(e) means fixedly mounting said mold boards on said frame for commongenerally vertical and tilting movements with said frame relative tosaid wheels,

(f) means between said front and rear ends respectively of said frameand said front and rear wheel mounting means for imparting pivotalmovement to said wheel mounting means to generally vertically move saidframe relative to said front and rear pairs of wheels,

(g) and independent means mounted between said frame and one of saidwheel mounting means for imparting said tilting movements to the framerelative to said pairs of wheels.

2. The road grader defined in claim v1 in which said frame comprises,top and bottom walls, sidewalls and spaced partitions cooperating toprovide a plurality of liquid tight ballast chambers at opposite sidesand adjacent the front and rear ends of said frame, each of saidchambers having an inlet and a drain outlet.

3. The road grader defined in claim 1 in which said mold boards comprisefront, intermediate and rear mold boards each disposed at an obliqueangle to an adjacent mold board and to the longitudinal dimension ofsaid frame, characterized by a generally vertical disposed platelikegate extending longitudinally of said frame, means mounting said gate atone side of said frame between said intermediate and rear mold boardsfor movements longitudinally of said frame toward and away fromengagement with said rear mold board, and means for imparting saidmovements to said gate.

4. The road grader defined in claim 1 in which said wheel mounting meanscomprises a pair of bell cranks having intermediate portions pivotallymounted on the front and rear ends respectively of the frame on saidgenerally horizontal axes extending transversely of the frame, each pairof Wheels being operatively connected to a different one of said bellcranks for bodily tilting movements generally on said longitudinallyextending axis, and a longitudinally adjustable tie member havingopposite ends secured each to a different one of said bell cranks.

5. The road grader defined in claim 1 in which said wheel mounting meansincludes a pair of bell cranks having intermediate portions pivotallymounted on the front and rear ends of the frame respectively on saidgenerally horizontal parallel axes extending transversely of the frame,characterized by a transverse axle housing operatively connected to oneof said bell cranks and a pair of transverse axles mounted in said axlehousing for axial sliding movements and each connected to a differentone of the wheels of the adjacent pair of wheels, and means forimparting axial movements to said axles in opposite directions relativeto each other to vary the distance between the wheels of said adjacentpair transversely of said frame.

6. The road grader defined in claim 5 in which said means for impartingtilting movements to the frame comprises a fluid pressure operated motorconnected to said one the bell cranks and to said axle housing andoperative to vary the angular displacement between the axes of saidaxles and the axis of pivotal movement of said one of the bell cranks.

7. The road grader defined in claim 5 characterized by means connectingthe other of said bell cranks to its adjacent pair of wheels for commonsteering movements of its adjacent wheels relative to said frame.

8. The road grader defined in claim 7 in which said last mentioned meansincludes a normally transverse horizontal axle for said last-mentionedpair of wheels, and a fifth wheel operatively connecting said transversehorizontal axle to said other bell crank.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 661,294 11/1900 Reynolds 172-6111,216,779 2/1917 Dankel et al 37-108 1,592,690 7/1926 Wilson 37-502,124,466 7/1938 Le Bleu 172-611 2,186,059 1/1940 Baker 37-108 2,681,2316/ 4 Kondracki 280-34 2,763,944 9/1956 Magee et a1. 37-42 3,156,31311/1964 Peterson 280-34 ROBERT E. PULFREY, Primary Examiner.

EUGENE H. EICKHOLT, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R.

